No word on the severity of starters' injuries

Matthews, Nelson, Bulaga hurt in victory

Nov. 4, 2012

Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, right, tries to sack Arizona Cardinals quarterback John Skelton in the third quarter during Sunday's game at Lambeau Field. Matthews hobbled off the field after the play and didn't return to the game. / Evan Siegle/Press-Gazette

Written by

and Rob Demovsky

Green Bay Packers tackle Bryan Bulaga is carted off the field during Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau Field. / Evan Siegle/Press-Gazette

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The Packers lost three starters to injuries Sunday, including outside linebacker Clay Matthews with the latest in his long history of hamstring injuries.

Matthews, the Packers’ best defensive player, injured a hamstring in the third quarter.

Matthews has had a hamstring injury in each of his four NFL seasons, though this was the first year he’d made it through training camp without the injury. Matthews left the game after a play on which he attempted to sack Cardinals quarterback John Skelton and didn’t return. Dezman Moses replaced him.

The other two injured starters were receiver Jordy Nelson (ankle) and right tackle Bryan Bulaga (hip). Coach Mike McCarthy didn’t comment on the severity of any of the injuries, so it’s unclear whether any of the three will be back immediately after the Packers’ bye this week.

Nelson missed last week’s game against Jacksonville because of a hamstring injury and didn’t return to practice until Friday. He was in the starting lineup Sunday, and on the first pass to him in the first quarter, he injured an ankle while going to the ground to scoop a low throw from Aaron Rodgers. Nelson did not return.

Until this game, the Packers’ starting offensive line hadn’t missed a snap this season. But early in the second quarter, Bulaga left with a hip injury and didn’t return.

To replace him, left guard T.J. Lang moved to right tackle, and backup lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith played left guard. Lang last played right tackle for most of the final two games in the regular season last year, when Bulaga was out because of a knee injury.

“I think it’s big for us when your guards can jump out and play tackle,” McCarthy said. “I mean, we have two guards that can go out and play left or right tackle. That’s says a lot about T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton.”

The Packers gave up only one sack, on the game’s first series, and had a season-high 176 yards rushing.

“We played good up front,” center Jeff Saturday said. “I thought as a group that’s a very good defense, have a lot of respect for it. This is probably the most consistent we’ve played (on the offensive line). Proud of our guys, proud of our backs, they hit the hole hard, moved the pile. Just a good day.”

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Lang had only one noticeably bad play, early in the third quarter when outside linebacker Quentin Groves beat him cleanly for a hit on Rodgers. Lang said he didn’t hear what the snap count was supposed to be on the play and got a late jump because he’d turned to watch the ball just as it was snapped.

“Assignment-wise, I felt real good,” Lang said. “It just takes a couple plays to get the technique back and remember some old tricks. But I’ve had a lot of snaps at right tackle and I’m always prepared to go out there.”

Dietrich-Smith said he was going onto the field for a snap in the offensive package in which he plays tight end when Bulaga came out.

“So I went out there and parked at the left guard spot and said, ‘All right, here we go,’” Dietrich-Smith said. “We don’t want to see guys like that go down, and we all hope we see Bryan back here real soon.”

Cold Crosby

Kicker Mason Crosby was upset and frustrated in the locker room after going 1-for-2, including a miss from 44 yards. As of after the game, he was planning not to kick at all during the players’ week off for their bye.

“Just going to take a break,” Crosby said, “just gotta get away from it for a sec and enjoy time with the family and come back strong. We’re winning football games, that’s the most important thing. I just have to make the kicks that keep helping us win, that’s my job.”

Crosby is 10-for-15 this season, and three of his misses have come from outside 50 yards, including one from 58 yards. But two of those were unusually bad hits: a 51-yarder that jumped wildly to the left that would have tied the game in the final seconds of the Packers’ loss at Indianapolis, and a 58-yarder that jumped hard right at the end of the first half against St. Louis.

Last week against Jacksonville, Crosby’s miss came on a 32-yarder that hit the right upright; on Sunday, his 44-yard miss was just wide to the left. His make was a 33-yarder.

“There was no wind in there today,” Crosby said. “I hit both balls the way I kind of wanted to. The first one just trailed off left a little too much, I didn’t play for what ended up being a draw on the kick. It looked like it went right over the upright but it must have snuck by that.”

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Time off

After McCarthy spoke to the team following Sunday’s game, he turned them loose for the bye week.

Players don’t have to report back to Lambeau Field until next Monday unless they require medical treatment.

Last year, McCarthy brought the players in for one day of work during their bye, but perhaps the long list of injuries prompted McCarthy to give them the whole week off this time.

“It’s a long season when we come back,” receiver James Jones said. “Where we’re trying to get to, we have a long way to go.”

Neal's revival

Early last week, defensive end Mike Neal gave himself little chance to play against the Cardinals because of the ankle injury he sustained the previous week .

He tried to run Wednesday but couldn’t.

Yet by Thursday, he felt well enough to practice. He not only played extensively against Arizona but also recorded his second sack in five games since returning from his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

Since his return, Neal has played the best football of his three-year pro career, the first two of which have been marred by injuries. Neal said he was so down in the dumps after his first two seasons he pondered quitting after last year.

“I’ve never been so hurt like this, and I didn’t even want to play football any more,” Neal said. “I got hurt and at one point in time, I told my parents, ‘You know what? I did what I can and with this injury thing, I’m ready to be done.’ … But you just keep working through it, and it’s starting to work out for me.”